Study warns drinking 2% milk may significantly speed up aging

Another study investigating the effects of dairy on human health and aging has found that swapping typical 2-percent milk for the lower-fat 1-percent milk has a noticeable positive impact on one’s rate of aging. The study joins an existing body of research on dairy and its potential impact on everything from acne to aging and the development of cancer.

It’s no secret that the dairy lobby is a massive one, something that has gone to great lengths to ensure dairy remains a common element in the Western diet. This industry has proven hostile toward research that challenges the idea that dairy is entirely healthy; it has even gone so far as to challenge the use of the term ‘milk’ with plant-based alternatives like soymilk and oat milk.

Despite this, we’ve seen a growing number of studies that link dairy consumption with potentially problematic health outcomes, including faster aging and increased odds of developing cancer. Seemingly underscoring this body of research is a new study out of Brigham Young University, where researchers have found that switching from 2-percent to 1-percent milk is ‘significantly’ linked to longer telomeres and slower aging.

The research was performed by Brigham Young University’s Larry Tucker, Ph.D.; the study involved more than 5,800 adults in the US. Based on the data, Tucker found that adults who consumed skim and 1-percent low-fat milk had also experienced ‘several years less biological aging’ when compared to people who consumed two-percent and whole milk.

Tucker explained:

It was surprising how strong the difference was. If you’re going to drink high-fat milk, you should be aware that doing so is predictive of or related to some significant consequences.

That doesn’t mean that milk is entirely bad, however. Dairy also has many beneficial elements, including calcium, protein, and more. The latest study found that while people who drank low-fat milk had longer telomeres (and therefore slower aging) compared to high-fat milk drinkers, it also found that people who didn’t drink any milk had shorter telomeres than the people who drank low-fat milk. The findings seemingly indicate that people shouldn’t entirely eliminate dairy from their diet, but rather switch to low-fat options.